Introduction

Welcome to the Talking Platypus, on this blog I will be sharing my thoughts on different subjects stemming from sports, politics, society, education and any other interest that I have.

As a first post, I thought it would be interesting to talk a little about myself on this day (which is my birth date), through the lens of the Real Madrid (RM) fan that I am. Today, May 23rd, is a birthdate that I share with Manuel Sanchis. He was an iconic Real Madrid player of the late 80's to late 90's, a player who exemplified what it is to be a Real Madrid fan, being himself the son of a former Real Madrid player. Sanchis spent 18 years playing for Real Madrid professionally, playing 523 games. Being a numbers person myself, it is interesting that 523 matches both our birth month and date written the American Way: 5-23.

I must say that I have a special relationship with numbers and to be specific, dates. I have an uncanny memory for dates and events that baffles most of my friends, colleagues and family members but I also believe that these numbers tell stories, along with mine.

My Real Madrid fanhood began with the Champions League on May 20th, 1998, where this decent RM team won "La Septima" against Juventus. Sanchis was the captain of that team and little did I know at the time about his date of birth and the connection that we share in that regard. As an Ivorian, born in the middle of West Africa, it was amazing for me for a team to beat Juventus, a giant of the 90's who was playing its third Champions league final in a row in '98. A fixture that the gargantuan Madrid of the 50's and 60's previously toped by reaching and winning 5 finals between 1956 and 1960. Being a great fan of Calcio and Del Piero at the time, I was bamboozled by a team that could lock Juventus and win a game by the smallest of margins. A player marked me during that game, his name is Raul Gonzales Blanco who will become my idol and remains so till today. This team amazed me by the way they were compact as a unit and how they played. I decided to switch allegiance that day and never looked back.

Throughout the years, I have educated myself about Real Madrid and what this team stands for in terms of values; interestingly enough these values have been so useful in my own personal life from 1998 to today.

A little bit about me, I am originally from Cote d'Ivoire, a small country on the western African coast, which has also been the birth place of very famous football players who have graced European pitches, gliding under the melody of the beautiful game. A game that has shaped me directly and sometimes indirectly in the way I shape my mind and personality. Real Madrid has been in some ways the silver lining of my life for ups and downs and key events in my life can be used as reference points as well. We will have enough time to discuss these events as well as other topics on here as we move forward in our journey.

Today is my birthday, I am grateful and feel blessed to still be alive in these difficult times and I am excited to be discussing many things on here and their correlation to my life. I will also be discussing why this blog is titled as it is. Stay blessed until next time!

Oscar the Talkative Platypus